Always
by isaacswolfsbane
Summary: James will always choose Lily, no matter what. Warning: Canon character death.


**QLFC Round 9 - Gear Up!;  
** Golden Snitch: Write about a witch or wizard displaying undying loyalty to someone.

* * *

 **Always**

James unlocked the front door, bags in hand, as Lily pushed Harry up the path to their house. As the door swung open, James jumped a little and he heard Lily let out a tiny shriek behind him. On their sofa, just in front of the door, sat Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore," James greeted, unsuccessful in his attempt to mask the surprise in his voice. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Alas, I'm afraid this visit is not a joyous one," Dumbledore replied. "I've received some rather troubling information that concerns the three of you."

James sank into the nearest armchair and Lily pulled Harry out of the pushchair, settling him of her knee as she perched on the arm of James' chair.

"The three of us?" Lily asks. "You mean Harry is involved?"

"He is indeed. You see, Lord Voldemort has become aware of a prophecy, one I was only aware of myself very recently."

"A prophecy?" James asked.

"Yes. A prophecy was made to me a few days ago, and I, and more recently Voldemort, believe the person it refers to is your son, Harry."

James started to rise from his seat, a protest already forming on his lips, but Lily lay a hand on his arm and he instantly deflated.

"Why would it concern Harry?" Lily asked, the question coming out much calmer and more eloquently than had James asked it himself.

"It mentions a child born as the seventh month dies. That could be young Harry, or it could be Neville Longbottom. Precautions have already been set in place to protect the Longbottom boy, but as Voldemort already believes it to be your son, I think the three of you will require more protection."

James tried to object, to tell Dumbledore he could protect his wife and child if it came to it, but Dumbledore carried on speaking.

"I suggest you go into hiding. Potter Manor is the first place they will think to look for the three of you, and I wouldn't expect them to take very long to arrive. I know a quaint little village called Godric's Hollow that has a house for sale. A dear friend of mine lives nearby, too, so she can keep an eye on you and contact me if anything were to happen."

* * *

 _A hand slapped James on the back as he left the Great Hall, a "good luck for tomorrow, mate" following him as he walked to his next lesson. He wished he could have taken the day off to prepare for the Quidditch game, even if it was only against Hufflepuff, but James had made a promise to Remus that he wouldn't skip any more lessons for Quidditch this year._

 _It was a good thing he was going to lesson, James noted, as he stepped around a corner and saw two Slytherins brandishing their wands, one of them muttering about "that Mudblood, Evans."_

 _James ran ahead of the two boys and threw himself in front of the blast of red light that appeared from the wand on the left, closely followed by a jet of blue from the one on the right._

" _Fuck!" James yelled as he crumpled to the ground in pain._

 _The next thing James knew, he was in the hospital wing, Sirius, Peter, and Remus at his bedside (although, only Peter looked concerned for his wellbeing)._

" _What happened?" James asked, reaching around on the side table for his glasses. They were handed to him by Remus a second later._

" _We lost!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "We were doing so well and then Collins went and caught the snitch before Mulligan had even seen it, the blind bastard."_

" _Collins?" James asked. "Mulligan?"_

" _You were out for twenty-six hours," Remus told him. "You missed the match. Mulligan stepped in for you but he's so incompetent that Collins caught the snitch unopposed and Hufflepuff won."_

" _I'm going to bloody kill Mulligan," James said, throwing the sheets back, readying himself to stand._

 _Sirius' hand pushed him back into the bed._

" _Not before I kill_ you _," Sirius said. "Why the bloody hell did you go and get yourself sent to the Hospital Wing the day before a Quidditch match?"_

" _Two Slytherins were going to curse Evans when she had her back turned. I wasn't about to let that happen."_

" _But right before a Quidditch match, Prongs? Out of all the days to be an idiot, yesterday was not the one to choose."_

" _It's_ Evans _," James said. "I'm always going to pick her."_

* * *

James paced the floor of the dining room as he thought over his options. He'd never imagined it would come to this, but he supposed if it came to having a Secret Keeper, he'd want to do it himself; he was the one most likely to protect Lily and Harry, after all.

"I'll do it," James said. "It's my family; I want to be the one with the secret."

"No," Dumbledore, Sirius, and Lily all said at the same time.

"The charm doesn't work like that, James. You can't protect the secret if you are the secret." Lily stood and held James, who was still pacing, in place. "We need to use someone else."

"But why?" James asked. He reminded himself of a spoilt child in that moment, but he didn't care. "There is nobody I'd choose over you, Lils. Nothing that could make me give you up."

"And if they find you then that means I'll have to give _you_ up. Do you think I want that, honestly?"

Dumbledore coughed. "If I may interrupt," he said. "I'd like to offer myself. I'd be more than willing to act as the Secret Keeper for the pair of you."

"No," James said softly, resignation filling his voice. "If I can't do it myself, then it has to be Padfoot." He turned to face Sirius. "Will you be our Secret Keeper, mate?"

* * *

" _Prongs, mate, we've been planning this for_ months _, literally months. You can't back out on us now for some girl," Sirius said, throwing his barely started homework onto the table._

" _She's not 'some girl'," James said angrily. "It's Eva— Lily. She's finally given me a chance and I'd be a fool to say no now."_

" _But this is the greatest prank we've done yet!" Sirius threw his hands in the air. "Just picture all the students walking into the Great Hall for dinner on Saturday sporting beards!"_

 _James shrugged. "I'll still see that, I just won't be a part of it."_

 _Sirius sighed. "You won't see it. Without you, it won't happen«I'll have to rely on Wormtail to be the lookout, and he's useless." Sirius turned to look at Peter. "No offence."_

" _None taken," Peter said quickly, his quill still scratching against his parchment._

" _This is Lily we're talking about!" James exclaimed. "I've been waiting for this since First Year and I'm not throwing it away, no matter how epic the prank is going to be."_

" _But—"_

" _Padfoot, it's Lily—I'll always choose Lily. Just get Moony to do it."_

* * *

James lept from his seat as the streetlights outside all went out at once.

"Is it…?" Lily asked. Her voice showing the fear her face was masking.

James nodded. "Get ready," he said quietly.

Silently, he moved to stand by the window, Lily taking the other side. They watched as a lone figure walked down the street, features hidden under the cover of darkness. As they got closer to the house, more figures appeared from the shadows, surrounding the area.

"There's too many of them," Lily mumbled, her voice almost silent.

"No there aren't. There's a gap," James said, pointing in the direction of Bathilda Bagshot's house was. "If we can make it through, we can get to Bathilda's."

Suddenly, there was a flash of light outside and the figure came into view, much closer than he had been before—Voldemort.

"Go!" James screamed. "Lily, go. Get out of here."

"James, I'm staying. Let me fight too."

"No!"

Voldemort started up the garden path.

"Lily, go. Take Harry and go!"

This time, Lily listened to him. She raced from the room, James could hear her taking the stairs two at a time before slamming open the door to Harry's room.

James breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that even if he were to die tonight, his family would make it out safely. He ran out into the hall just as the front door was blown off its hinges.

"Potter." Voldemort's voice sent a shiver down James' spine and he was suddenly aware of the fact he had left his wand in the front room. "Come to face me head on?"

James stood his ground. He could still hear Lily moving around upstairs, and as the green jet of light came racing towards him, he could only hope she would be able to get out in time.

* * *

" _Prongs, mate, why did you do that?" Remus asked, leaning over James' bed. It was the third time James had been in the Hospital Wing that week, and Remus was the only one left that showed any concern._

" _That bastard was threatening Evans, I wanted to protect her."_

" _She could have stood up for herself. Merlin knows she has against you enough times," Peter said, unsuccessfully trying to conceal a small laugh._

" _Yes, but it's_ Evans _. I'm always going to jump in to protect her. Mark my words."_

" _But what if it's a choice between her and one of us?" Sirius asked._

" _I'd choose her. In a hundred lifetimes, I'd choose her."_

" _But… but what if it's the killing curse?" Peter stuttered._

" _Then I'll be there faster than you can say 'mischief managed'. If there's any chance I can save her, then I'll always take it."_

* * *

 **Word Count:** 1,628.

* * *

 **This is for:**

 _ **Hogwarts Assignment 5 - Potions;  
**_ _ **Task #1** : Write about someone experiencing some kind of awful trauma.  
_ _'I'd choose you, in a hundred lifetimes, I'd choose you.'_


End file.
